Italian court convicts big global banks over derivatives

ROME (AFP) - An Italian court on Wednesday convicted UBS, JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank and ordered them to pay fines for failing to inform the Milan city council of the risks involved in buying complex derivatives.

The court found nine managers at the four banks involved in the case including German lender Depfa guilty and ordered the seizure of 88 million euros (S$142 million) from the four at the close of a two-year trial.

The case was based on a 1.68-billion-euro loan taken out by Milan in 2005.

Prosecutor Alfredo Robledo said it was "a historic sentence" because "it recognises the fundamental principle that banks have to be transparent."